HPV Country Profile

2356

cases in 2018

1280

deaths in 2018

The HPV vaccine is currently not included in Turkey’s national immunization program.

Description

HPV

General Information

Human Papillomavirus

Burden of HPV infection

In Turkey, about 4.7% of women in the general population are estimated to have HPV type 16 or 18 at a given time, which causes approximately 76.0% of invasive cervical cancers in the country. Approximately 25% of women have any type of HPV, according to a 2013 study.1,4

Burden of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer, caused by HPV, is the fifteenth leading cause of cancer deaths in women in Turkey, causing at least 1280 deaths annually among the population of 31.1 million women aged 15 years and older who are at risk for the disease.1,2 Between 2012 and 2018, the number of deaths every year due to cervical cancer nearly doubled (663 in 2012 to 1280 in 2018), and if decisive action is not taken at the national level, annual deaths due to the disease will nearly double again by 2040, reaching 2210 deaths per year.3 In Turkey, at least 2356 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer each year.

4.8 per 100,000 women in Turkey contract cervical cancer annually and 2.5 per 100,000 women die due to the disease each year in Turkey. Compared to countries in the MENA region (as defined by UNAIDS), Turkey’s death and incidence rates due to cervical cancer are relatively low. For example, Somalia and Morocco have the highest incidence and mortality rates, with 24.0 and 17.2 women per 100,000 being newly diagnosed with cervical cancer annually and at least 21.9 and 12.6 women per 100,000 dying due to cervical cancer per year, respectively. Whereas Iran, Iraq and Yemen have the lowest (around 2 per 100,000 women are diagnosed per year and about 1 per 100,000 die because of cervical cancer annually).2

Cift, Tayfur, et al. “Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Midwives and Nurses Working at the Hospital about HPV Infection and Vaccinations.” European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, vol. 234, Mar. 2019, p. e176, doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2018.08.546.

This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Ms. Erva Nur Çınar, a 5th year medical student and human rights activist, currently studying at Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty. She is affiliated to the International Federation of Medi